ID :
104273
Wed, 02/03/2010 - 09:39
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/104273
The shortlink copeid
U.S. hopes to organize trilateral anti-disaster military exercises: commander
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- The United States wants to organize trilateral military exercises with South Korea and Japan to better deal with disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, a U.S. military commander said Tuesday.
"There's been a lot of exchanges of information and so forth, but a specific
exercise of a trilateral nature would be something new," Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon,
commander of U.S. Army, Pacific, said in a teleconference from Bangkok. "There's
been interest shown concerning that, and so we're awaiting some ideas and
information from both of the armies, and we intend to move forward on that as
soon as we can."
Mixon said that the South Korean military is taking part in a joint military
exercises with the U.S. and Thailand, which are under way in the Southeast Asian
country until next week.
"We're just thrilled to have South Korea participating this year," he said.
"They're, obviously, an important power out in the region, and to have them out
here participating with the other nations, I think, certainly will open up other
opportunities for them to train in a bilateral or multilateral respect."
South Korea and Japan do not usually cooperate militarily, although their
economic relationship is robust, stemming from Japan's colonial rule of Korea in
the first half of the 20th century.
The territorial dispute over South Korea's Dokdo islets, also claimed by Japan,
is a headache for the U.S. government, which fears a chasm between its two
closest allies in Asia at a time when they need to cooperate closely in dealing
with North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions, the growing power of China and
other regional security issues.
Navy patrol boats from South Korea and Japan nearly clashed in waters off Dokdo
in 2006, when Japan tried to conduct a survey of waterways near the islets,
although the Japanese boats withdrew at the last minute.
Mixon, based in Hawaii, said that he is optimistic about the proposed trilateral
exercises.
"We have had discussions with both the Japanese ground self-defense force, South
Korea, and the U.S. about putting together a multilateral or at least trilateral
exercises based on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capability," he
said. "So I think it's a good sign, and it shows a lot of understanding by the
South Korean military that they are an important part of peace and stability
within the region."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- The United States wants to organize trilateral military exercises with South Korea and Japan to better deal with disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, a U.S. military commander said Tuesday.
"There's been a lot of exchanges of information and so forth, but a specific
exercise of a trilateral nature would be something new," Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon,
commander of U.S. Army, Pacific, said in a teleconference from Bangkok. "There's
been interest shown concerning that, and so we're awaiting some ideas and
information from both of the armies, and we intend to move forward on that as
soon as we can."
Mixon said that the South Korean military is taking part in a joint military
exercises with the U.S. and Thailand, which are under way in the Southeast Asian
country until next week.
"We're just thrilled to have South Korea participating this year," he said.
"They're, obviously, an important power out in the region, and to have them out
here participating with the other nations, I think, certainly will open up other
opportunities for them to train in a bilateral or multilateral respect."
South Korea and Japan do not usually cooperate militarily, although their
economic relationship is robust, stemming from Japan's colonial rule of Korea in
the first half of the 20th century.
The territorial dispute over South Korea's Dokdo islets, also claimed by Japan,
is a headache for the U.S. government, which fears a chasm between its two
closest allies in Asia at a time when they need to cooperate closely in dealing
with North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions, the growing power of China and
other regional security issues.
Navy patrol boats from South Korea and Japan nearly clashed in waters off Dokdo
in 2006, when Japan tried to conduct a survey of waterways near the islets,
although the Japanese boats withdrew at the last minute.
Mixon, based in Hawaii, said that he is optimistic about the proposed trilateral
exercises.
"We have had discussions with both the Japanese ground self-defense force, South
Korea, and the U.S. about putting together a multilateral or at least trilateral
exercises based on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capability," he
said. "So I think it's a good sign, and it shows a lot of understanding by the
South Korean military that they are an important part of peace and stability
within the region."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
